School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2Although there are many versions of the thumb-sized heroine's adventures available, this attractive offering is an excellent choice. Falloon's clean, clear narrative recounts the tale with simplicity and style, without losing the poetic quality of Andersen's original. The text reads aloud well, although it is best suited to one-on-one sharing or independent reading. Andersen ended his tale with the swallow returning and telling him the story. Other versions end with Thumbelina's wedding to the flower fairy king. At the end of Falloon's retelling, the swallow flies back to Thumbelina's foster mother, the farmer's wife, and tells her what happened; it is the farmer's wife who narrates this story. This is a particularly nice touch that adds closure to the tale without detracting from its tone. Chichester Clark's graceful, sunny watercolor illustrations illuminate the text with spring colors, light, and motion. They capture Thumbelina's waiflike essence, yet give her strength and spirit. The pastel palette and sprightly style soften the darker edges of the story and help to reinforce the theme of coming home to a place where one is wanted.Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Clark's sunlit watercolors of luxuriant countryside brighten this retalling of the Andersen classic. Ages 4-8. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Delicate watercolors illustrate this clumsy retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's tale. Beautiful Thumbelina barely escapes undesirable marriages to a toad, a stag beetle, and a mole before a kind swallow carries her to a sunny kingdom, where she weds the King of the Flowers. The unsophisticated and wordy text, characterized by sentences such as 'She cried most despairingly at her piteous plight,' lacks appeal. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 4^-8. Hans Christian Andersen's popular fairy tale about the tiny, intrepid heroine is retold here in a warm, expansive version that is true to the story's combination of fragility and power. The tiny girl starts off at home sailing in a tulip petal on a plate in her mother's kitchen. When she is forced into the outside world, she escapes her threatening suitors, including a huge, ugly toad and a dreary mole, and, through her goodness and courage, she marries the loving King of the Flowers, who is as tiny as she is. Clark's richly colored, detailed pictures evoke the beauty of bone china. Delicate, almost transparent at times, the illustrations express the sweetness and endurance of the adventurer's miniature world. With its witty use of scale, the story has the appeal of playing dollhouse and also the thrill of adventure. Use it for contrast with Ginsburg's Clay Boy (also reviewed in this issue), in which the child is a scary giant. --Hazel Rochman
